Against All Odds
by pronounced.ALEEZAH
Summary: Maxine and Dominick Ride were a couple who worked together in Itex. One day, they die mysteriously, and no one knows what happened to them. 18 years later, enter Max Martinez and Nick Walker, seniors who hate each other. After finding out that they're reincarnates of the Ride couple, it's up to them to solve the Rides' murder and finish what they started. Will they survive it? FAX.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Come on, Max! Don't stop now!"

The couple had been running long and hard through the forest for several days. Their pursuers were not far behind; it was only a matter of time before they caught the two.

Max had paused a few seconds ago. She bent at her knees where she rested her hands. Her once blond hair was now matted and dirtied, and exhaustion showed through her brown eyes. "Please, Nick," she panted. "Go on without me, I don't know how much longer I can do this!" The woman felt like she would collapse any second.

The dark-haired man, who was a couple meters ahead of her, came back to his wife's side. Nick knelt down to her height and made her look at his weary, onyx eyes. He spoke carefully, "You can _do _this Max. I know you can. And besides, " he swept back his hair and cracked a weary smile, "You can't get rid of me that easily." Max grinned back, despite the all the tension involved.

He helped her up, and all of a sudden, a shout echoed through the woods. "There they are! I see them!"

Nick cursed. "They've caught up, let's go!" Hand in hand, the couple sprinted faster as the sound of men running and dogs barking came closer and closer.

As they ran towards their salvation, Max stumbled over a branch, causing them to lose even more speed than before. Nick quickly helped her back up again and they continued to tear through the forest, hoping that they would outrun them, that some how they would make it out alive…

But it was too late.

Their chasers were now right behind them. Max whipped her head around to see a man dressed in black holding a gun, approaching them slowly.

"More are coming," he said calmly. "Just tell me what you know, and no one will be hurt. Are we not friends?"

Pain filled Max's eyes. She hated that man who stood in front of her with a passion. "You-you _traitor!_" she hissed. "How dare you call us your friends? We…we trusted you! We believed you! And this is how you repay us?"

Nick gathered Max in his arms and glared at him. "We never want to see you again," he spat out.

The armed man smiled sadly. "As you wish," he said, raising his gun and pointing it at Nick's chest. He placed his finger on the trigger and just as he was about to pull it—

_Bam!_

Surprised, he looked down at his chest to see blood pooling on his chest. The gun fell out of his hands as he looked back up at them. There was pistol in Max's shaking hands that was not there before.

"I'm not sorry." Her voice shook, but there was a steel in her eyes, the kind that replaced the innocence once present. The man fell to his knees and slumped to the ground.

Nick breathed a sigh of relief. "Good riddance," he said. "Now, let's keep moving, he said more—" Suddenly, he pushed Max out of his arms.

A gunshot rang throughout the forest. Max was about to ask Nick if he was hurt, but her husband had fallen to the ground, his features frozen into a permanent scream. A bullet wound had appeared on his head, and his now glassy eyes looked up at the night sky. Thick, crimson blood pooled over his forehead and seeped onto the dirt, creating a puddle that appeared black in the night. His dirty, matted watch read 12:21 AM.

Max choked back a sob. "Nick?" She fell to his side and, clutching his body, began to rock back and forth. "Oh, _Nick_," the woman wept while realizing something painful.

_That was supposed to be me._

Another bullet grazed the side of Max's head, but she was too overwhelmed to feel the pain. Knowing that she was about to die any second, she still remained at Nick's side. If one of them went down, so would the other.

She heard footsteps approach and turned her face to see two more people coming closer to her, both armed with guns. "There's no point!" she screamed, trails of tears still running down her face. "It's gone, you'll never find it!"

One of the snipers, a woman, raised her forty-five and shot Max in the chest. The blond collapsed onto her husband's corpse, dying exactly two minutes after him.

Maxine and Dominick Ride were dead, and their secrets died with them.

Or did they?

One of the nurses rushed the screaming woman in the wheelchair into a room, her partner running along side his wife. "It's okay, hon', we're almost there!"

The young lady, a nine-months-pregnant banker named Anne Walker, wailed, "Just get it out already! I can't take it anymore!"

"Don't worry just breathe, alright? In, out, in, out, like we practiced, remember?" The man continued to try and calm his wife, as her contractions got shorter and shorter. After few hours of labor, Anne Walker gave birth to a baby boy at exactly 12:21 AM.

"What shall we call him?" her husband, David, asked.

Anne beamed widely as she bounced the child in her arms. "Let's call him…Nicholas, after your father. Nick for short," she suggested.

He returned her smile. "Sounds good to me."

In the same hospital, on the same floor, and in a separate room, Valencia and Ricardo Martinez were in a similar situation as the Walkers. Only this time, the process had involved long, hard hours of pure agony and the result was a girl. The couple had decided on a name months ago: Maximum, or "the greatest." Maximum Martinez was born at 12:23 AM, two minutes after Nicholas Walker.

And this is how the story of the two Maxes and the two Nicks began.

**A/N- HI GUYS LONG TIME NO SEE HUH. It's me again :) Um, a few things I want to state:**

**1\. This is NOT going to be regularly updated. I will be writing out the whole story first, and then I will be regularly uploading. The only reason I put up this prologue is because I do not want anyone stealing this idea or writing a story like this before I do. Basically, it's the whole "I thought of it first kinda thing."**

**2\. PLEASE READ BECAUSE OF A FIGHT BY GREEN-EYED-WONDER 0-0. Contrary to what many of you think, she is NOT writing the story by herself. We are writing it together, and I actually wrote the last chapter by myself. To those of you who ARE reading it, it will be updated very, very soon :) And there are only 7-8 more chapters left!**

**Bye, everyone!**

**-pakiprincess**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_18 years later…_

"Do you ever feel like breaking down? Do you ever feel out of place, like somehow you just don't belong and no one understands you?" a man's voice wailed.

Max's alarm clock began to blare Simple Plan, causing her to wake up and sit up immediately. Her head consequently hit the wall, and she yelled out of pain. Gingerly touching the sore spot, she got out of bed to check if she had finished her homework, but her computer screen seem to have froze. "Come on," Max growled. "Of all the days to not work, it has to be today?" Her monitor still didn't respond, so she slammed her hand against it, which made the monitor go black.

Crap.

The day wasn't starting out well, especially considering the fact that she couldn't sleep last night. The nightmares had begun to occur more frequently ever since they began last year, so Max didn't trust herself to fall asleep anymore.

The nightmares were always the same: a man and a woman running through a forest in the middle of the night. The man getting shot, and then the woman.

Always in that order. Always in that same forest.

She could never get a good look at their faces, just their hair color. Their faces were always blurred. She always felt something horrible in her chest every time she remembered seeing the man die, which was strange, because she did not even know him. It was always right after the woman's death that she woke up, feeling sweaty and nauseous.

It wasn't just nightmares either. Sometimes in the middle of the day, Max got excruciating headaches, and they were consistently followed by a vision of some sort. They weren't like her nightmares that seemed to go on and on. Most of the times, it was just a flash of a person's face, or a name, or a building.

No one knew about these headaches or nightmares, not even her mom. Heck, not even her old best friend knew about them, and she used to tell him _everything._

Max blew her bangs up out of frustration and began to get ready for school, brushing her teeth, getting dressed, combing her hair. She came downstairs, clad in a hoodie and jeans, into the kitchen, where a platter of chocolate chip pancakes was waiting just for her.

Her mom stood next to the table with her arms outstretched. "Happy birthday!" she exclaimed.

Max smiled half-heartedly, yet hugged her mother anyway. "Thanks, Mom. I thought you were supposed to be at the hospital right now?"

Valencia raised an eyebrow. "And miss the morning when my little girl is finally eighteen? No, thanks. Besides, you're not exactly a girl anymore, are you?" When her daughter didn't say anything, she frowned. "Why so glum this morning?"

Max lowered her gaze. "I don't know. I just feel like something isn't right, like something really bad happened today." Max shrugged. "Whatever. It always feels like this on my birthday, doesn't it? Anyway, pancakes look good as always, Mom," she complimented, hastily changing the subject.

Her mom wanted to say something in regards to what her daughter said, but seeing as she wanted to change the subject, the woman didn't press the issue. "Well, it _is _your traditional birthday breakfast. Speaking of which, isn't it Fang's birthday today too?"

Max rolled her eyes at the sound of her neighbor's name. "His real name is _Nick, _Mom. And it's not like we talk to each other, either."

"But you two used to be so close!" Valencia protested.

"Yeah, well, people change, Mom." Not wanting to talk anymore, Max dug into her pancakes.

_Well, here's to me becoming a woman._

* * *

"Max! Happy birthday!" her friend Nudge squealed when Max arrived at school. Nudge was a vivacious girl of seventeen who talked a little excessively, and she often dressed according to the latest styles. Today, she wore a navy blue sleeveless jumpsuit with heels and a golden bracelet.

"Thanks, Nudge." Max noticed the decorative bag in Nudge's arms and her eyebrows furrowed, "Um, what's up with the sack?"

"It's your birthday present, silly! You wanna open it?"

"Maybe later, but thanks for getting me one." When her friend's face fell slightly, Max felt bad. To make up for it, she suggested, "Actually, how about you come over, and we can eat ice cream and watch Cupcake Wars reruns?"

Nudge immediately perked up. "Sure, sounds great!" she chirped. "Is six a good time?"

"Perfect. Um, I should go put this in my locker. Later?"

"Later!" With a tiny wave, Nudge tottered away in high hopes of a good evening, one that Max felt would disappoint.

Max walked in the bright red and white school halls, deep in thought. Why was she so different today? Usually, she was full of humor and wit, ready for a sarcastic response any time. Today, that spark that typically fueled her words was gone and replaced by a strange sort of uneasiness that settled in the bottom of her stomach. Gone was snarky yet fun Max. Here was…

Depressed Max.

In fact, she was so busy thinking about what was wrong with her that she bumped into something. "Ow, watch it!" a male voice snapped.

Er, someone.

"Well, it's not _my _fault you weren't watching!" she retorted before looking up to see a boy standing before her. Actually, it was a _very _familiar boy whose facial features she had practically memorized. Shaggy black hair, olive skin, eyes as dark as midnight. Max knew _exactly _who it was.

Nick "Fang" Walker.

Her eyes widened. It wasn't very often that they talked to each other nowadays. When they did, there conversations typically consisted of wisecracks and contempt. "Oh," Fang muttered when he realized the person he bumped into was Max. "It's just you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's _just _me," she finished bitterly. "Now, can you get out of the way? I'm gonna be late for class."

"We have some time," Fang disagreed, much to her annoyance. "Happy birthday, by the way." It sounded like it hurt him to say those two words, seeing the way his jaw was clenched.

Max ignored that last part. "Uh, no, we don't have time. So if you need anything, please, hesitate to ask and let me get to homeroom."

Fang crossed his arms and blocked her path. "Don't you have something to say to me first?" His expression was full of expectance.

_Happy birthday_, Max thought silently, but what came out of her mouth was, "Yeah, your breath stinks. Now piss off before I get late for—" _Ring! _The bell rang, effectively cutting off her words. "Great, now I'm gonna get marked down," she began to complain before realizing that Fang was no longer standing in front of her and had somehow disappeared. Startled, she whipped her head around to see Fang walking away.

Max sighed, feeling a tinge of regret about what she had said. Then, she remembered what had happened between them and her brown eyes hardened as she turned to walk to class.

* * *

_She was supposed to say, " _Happy Birthday"_, _Fang thought bitterly. _We always say that._ Although Max and Fang rarely spoke, they always, always, _always_, wish each other happy birthday, considering the two of them shared the same one.

Maybe that was one of the components of their friendship that slowly dissipated each year. Fang always used to tease Max about how he was born two minutes earlier, and Max always had a fun comeback for his comments. Now even that was gone and soon, the only thing that would remain between them would be hostility.

Whatever. It wasn't like they were best friends anymore. Fang didn't care at all, or at least that's what he tried to tell himself. Nope, didn't care. Not even a little.

Fang arrived at his homeroom a few minutes later. Thankfully, the teacher wasn't there, so he didn't get in trouble. Ignoring the calls of his classmates who wanted to talk to him, he remained silent and continued to muse over his thoughts.

Some time after Max stopped talking to him, Fang began to receive…flashes. At least, that's what he called them. They appeared to him all the time, especially in his dreams.

He wondered who the people in these visions were. If he could get a look at their faces, he had a feeling that they would have been strikingly similar to Max and Fang's own features.

Just that moment, his head began to feel like it was splitting in half. Fang grabbed his head and yelled out in pain. The boy sitting next to him called out, but Fang heard nothing, didn't even see his mouth move. He rested his head in his hands but the torment just increased until he wanted to smash his head against the wall and rip into shreds.

Then, like a flash of lightning, a word rang through his mind.

Fang's onyx eyes flew wide open as the word appeared out of nowhere in his thoughts. The word sounded like a name, albeit a very strange name. His heart rate began to increase for he felt like that word was familiar, too familiar. This flash was a new development. Never in his life had he heard something like it.

What in the world was _Itex_?

**I'm not planning on frequent updates until I finish the story. I just felt like putting something up for you guys to read. Merry Christmas Eve!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It's a strange thing, life. With all its crazy twists and turns, you never know what will happen next. A person can go from rich to poor, unknown to famous, sad to happy.

This was a crucial lesson Max learned on her birthday when the night went from good to bad.

"Max, for the last time, nothing is going wrong. Why can't you just enjoy your birthday for once and quit being so depressed?" Nudge yelled, feeling frustrated at her friend.

"Well, I'm _sorry_, okay? I can't help this weird intuition I get that something doesn't feel right!"

It had started out okay. Nudge brought over tubs of Ben &amp; Jerry's vanilla ice cream to put on the famous chocolate chip cookies Valencia had made. Then, they sat in front of Max's television to watch the second season of Sherlock.

Unfortunately, it was halfway through "The Hounds of Baskerville" that Nudge realized Max was way too quiet and was not even paying attention to the TV.

This new awareness led to their current argument. "Can't you see I'm trying?" Max pleaded. "I wouldn't have invited you over if I didn't feel bad!"

"Did you even open my present?"

Max froze, thinking about the brightly wrapped gift she had received…and shoved into her school locker without remembering to bring it home. "Yeah, it was that—that one thing I wanted really badly, that new one, right?"

Nudge pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled deeply. "Okay, whatever. I'm leaving. Have fun with your ice cream. I'll see you at school tomorrow." She got up from the couch, grabbed her purse and headed towards the door.

"Nudge, wait! Don't leave now, I promise I'll try to enjoy myself, just don't be mad at me!" She was responded with the sound of the door slamming shut and sighed in disappointment. Now she was home alone on her birthday, without any friends or family, considering her mom was at the hospital right now doing surgery.

Suddenly, a jolt of electricity traveled through her brain.

Out of the frickin' nowhere, it felt like someone was using Max's head as a pair of bongos. A pain had begun and slowly increased each second. Max doubled over and grabbed her head in shock, gritting her teeth. _Not again. _She began to take deep breaths to distract herself from the pain. _In, out, in, out, _she told herself. _Just a few more seconds, and the headache will disappear._

Unfortunately for her, it just got worse from there and on top of it all, a strange image appeared in Max's mind.

It was a man's face, a man different from the dark-haired one who typically showed up in her nightmares. No, this man looked older by a good ten years and had blond hair. His face was not blurry to her; instead, she could clearly see every feature on his visage during the two seconds that were stretched out so it felt like hours. Bushy eyebrows, a hooked nose, a strong jaw, Max could picture of all of it.

And as quickly as the image came, it disappeared.

Straightening her posture, Max blinked rapidly, feeling disoriented. The last time she saw that man's face in her mind was at her cousin's house in seventh grade, meaning it was practically five to six years ago. She didn't have trouble remembering any of her visions; she could recall all of them quite easily, considering how vivid they were and how much they perturbed her.

_Strange,_ she thought. The man felt very familiar to her, as if she saw him in a dream before, which was weird because she only ever saw those two other people in her dreams.

Then, Max remembered her Indian classmate, Sonia. Sonia was a Hindu and one time for a school project, the two had done a research project on world religions. For the Hinduism segment, Sonia had informed her about a certain myth. It was so long ago that Max could not remember the belief she had mentioned.

The only thing that came to her was that a person retains memories of someone else's life. If the life belonged to the person or someone else, Max could not remember.

_Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway. _Yawning loudly, Max looked at the clock. It read eleven PM. She decided it was getting late, so she got off the couch and decided to head straight to bed. Calling Nudge was something that could wait till tomorrow.

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Fang!" the crowed cheered at the same time.

Fang tried to smile in appreciation, thinking it probably came out more like a grimace. He rose his plastic cup high in the air. "Thanks, everyone, especially Holden, for holding this party. You guys are great." He probably could have said more, but he thought extra words were entirely unnecessary. He wasn't called "tall, dark, and silent" for saying more than he was supposed to, anyway.

The crowd whooped at his response and the party continued with a pulsing fervor that was present in all high school gatherings, complete with underage drinking, a dance floor filled with gyrating bodies, and the whole senior class present.

Well, almost the whole class.

Fang didn't see Max there. Or her friend Nudge. Of course, it wasn't like he expected her to show up. The last time she was at his birthday party was in freshman year, when they used to share the attention. It seemed like ever since _that_ happened, Max became a hermit.

_Stop thinking about her_, Fang silently chastised himself. _Focus on the freaking party. _But the party was something he didn't want to focus on either. After Max left, everybody's eyes were only on him.

And he hated it. A lot.

He never liked being in the spotlight. Max, on the other hand, seemed like she was born to be a leader and the center of attention. Now, it was like their positions were reversed; Max spent those annual nights alone at home, and Fang was the celebrity at these parties.

Fang shivered, feeling a slight chill. It was strange because he was inside, so what was it that bothered him so much?

Ah, _right_.

He had never been able to shake off that vision today he felt in class. There was more pain in the headache than usual, and that _word_, that strange word that didn't sound like a name at all, just a horrible jumble of letters, that word that was bothering him more than it should.

_Itex._

Decidedly setting his Dixie cup down, Fang straightened his leather jacket and headed towards the door of the house. On his way out, however, a guy clad in a flannel and huge headphones around his neck put a hand in front of Fang's chest.

"Hey, man, where are you leaving?" Holden asked, fingering the cord of his headphones. "It's only ten."

"Sorry, Holden, not feeling so great," Fang lied through his teeth.

His friend frowned. "Oh. Well, then why not just pop a couple Advil and not leave? I think I might have a container in the kitchen," he suggested. "It's _your _party."

Fang shook his head. "No, thanks. My siblings are probably waiting for me anyway. Sorry, I can't stay longer." Without waiting to hear a response, he pushed his way through the mass of partygoers and exited through the front door. Fang quickly hurried down the steps and into his car.

When he arrived home to a pristine two-story house with a green front lawn, he quietly unlocked the entrance. He took of his shoes and padded softly across the carpeted floor. The living room was cloaked in darkness, so there couldn't have been anyone still there.

As far as Fang knew, his mom was on a business trip, and his dad was most likely at a game with his poker buddies, which meant—

Fang froze at the sound of footsteps coming down the steps.

"Fang?" A child's voice reached his voice. "Is that you?"

He turned around to see a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes. "Angel," he said his sister's name. "Why are you still awake? Is Gazzy also awake?"

The girl approached him, and Fang knelt down to gather her in his arms. "No, but I couldn't sleep," she said in a tiny voice. "I think the monsters came back 'cuz I can hear them."

Fang sighed. "Here, let's go up to your bedroom," he gently told her. He took her small, dainty hand in his large, calloused one and led her upstairs. They entered Angel's bedroom and turned on the lights.

Fang pretended to go around the room and look for the monsters. He checked under the bed and in the closet, the two places children usually think monsters are. Feeling satisfied, he doubtfully said, "I don't know, Ange. I can't find any monsters here."

Angel tugged his shirt. "That's cuz they only come during the dark, but I can't sleep with the lights on!"

"OK, then let's try this. Get into bed." Angel made a noise of protest, but one look from him quieted her, and she promptly lied down on her bed. Fang came to her side and properly tucked her in. "I'll be right back," he promised, and left the room, leaving Angel alone.

A minute later, he came back holding a candle and a box of matches in his hands. He put the candle on Angel's bedside table, struck a match, and lit the candle. Then, he turned the lights off.

A soft glow of the candle filled the room. "See?" Fang asked. "Now the candlelight will scare away the monsters."

His sister beamed from her spot in the bed and snuggled into her comforter.

"Thanks, Fang. Goodnight!"

"'Night, Ange." He shut the door and let out a breath. _At least that's over._ He headed to his own room and sat at his desk.

Fang turned on his computer and opened the Google search engine. He typed in the word "Itex" and waited for it to load. Once it did, he read the first suggestion that popped up:

**Showing results for **_**Ibex**_

The dark-haired boy mentally groaned as he saw the pictures of the forest animal pop up. He clicked the highlighted phrase, "_Search instead for _Itex."

**0 results for **_**Itex**_

This caused him to frown. _What? _He refreshed the site several times and the same thing showed again and again, showing no results at all. Fang immediately felt suspicious. It wasn't very often that a person got no results at all. Actually, he was pretty sure it _never _happened.

Maybe Itex was just a random jumble of letters after all. If not, researching it would be like chasing ghosts.

**A/N- Hehe, hi guys. Long time no see. Extremely, extremely sorry. I know in the beginning I said I was going to finish the story, but I just CAN'T help myself xD I am a junior in high school now (wow, it's been four years already?) and I moved to Pakistan last summer, so things have been very, very busy. But fear not! I will hopefully have the opportunity to write this summer. The thing is, I haven't been able to find my muse lately. I've also been more focused on poetry :P So, what have you guys been up to lately? **

**Shout out to those who reviewed last chapter (YOU DA REAL MVP). I probably don't deserve any, but can we reach ten reviews? Please? Constructive criticism is much appreciated, thanks.**

**BY THE WAY. CHECK OUT MY POETRY BLOG PLEASE. Link on profile.**

**Love you all -blows kiss-**

**-pronounced . ALEEZAH**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Ring!_

Max impatiently switched her balance to the other foot, waiting for someone to open the door she currently stood outside of. In one hand was a bag of Lindor truffles and in the other was a haphazardly wrapped gift that contained a bottle of pricey vanilla-scented body lotion from Victoria's Secret.

"I'm coming!" a voice from the other side of the door yelled. Max heard footsteps approach and a lock being turned. The door opened to reveal Nudge. She was clad in her pink pajamas, not strange considering it was nine o' clock on a Saturday morning. Upon seeing Max, Nudge's sleepy expression turned into a sour one.

"Hi," she greeted curtly. "What's up?"

Max sheepishly held up the chocolate and lotion. "Sorry?" When she was responded with silence, Max asked, "Notice what I'm wearing?" She set down the chocolate by her feet and held out her wrist.

Nudge stared at her wrist; she was wearing a real silver bracelet with a white gold angel wing charm. "My present?"

Max shrugged. "Yeah, I forgot it in my locker yesterday, so I came to the campus this morning to get it back."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Isn't the campus closed on weekends?"

The blond grinned. "For future references, Daryl the Janitor is willing to take bribes. Especially twenty dollar ones." Her eyes then softened. "Can you forgive me for acting so depressing yesterday?"

Moments passed. Nudge fought back the urge to smile, but it eventually took over, and her face brightened. "Of course! I can't believe you gave up twenty bucks to make me happy. That is so wonderful of you! We should like, totally do something. Ooh, what if we went to the mall? I saw this cute top yesterday that would look _so_ amazing with—"

Max interrupted her before she started ranting further. "Sure, Nudge. Let's go to the mall." It hurt her to say those words because the only time she ever went to the mall was if her clothes had holes in them, but she felt that she owed it to her friend.

"Just let me change and grab my bag!" Before she left, Nudge scurried over to Max and wrapped her into a hug. "You're the best, Max," she whispered, her voice muffled by Max's shirt.

Before Max could say anything, she let go and scampered away to her bedroom. She sighed and shook her head, smiling.

* * *

After an hour of shopping, Max felt like she was going to drop dead. It seemed like no matter how many clothes Nudge had, it was never enough. Blouses, heels, dresses, purses, skirts, et cetera et cetera—she always needed more. But Nudge was never selfish, no, never. She would make sure that if she bought something, so would Max.

So, lo and behold, Max was currently in a dressing room trying on a pair of floral jeans she would never find the occasion to wear, but Nudge insisted that "it would be, like, perfect for Dawson's party," which was actually going to be two months later.

"Nudge?" Max called out from inside the dressing room. "Nudge? Are you still there?" When there was no reply, she growled lowly. Max definitely did not agree to try on a bunch of preppy clothing in a cramped dressing room just so that when she was done, her friend was not there to see the end result. "Nudge!" she yelled once more for good measure.

There was still no reply.

_Goddamn. _Max rolled her eyes, changed back into her old jeans, and opened the dressing room door. She looked around for the mocha-skinned girl, but there was no sign of her. Max was walking away from her stall to search for her and had seen something bright and flashy on the ground, when all of a sudden a train hit her.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't really a train. But it definitely felt like one.

* * *

_20 minutes earlier…_

Fang wasn't going to give in. Nope. Never. He had way too much testosterone in his body to give in to something like that. Fang Walker did _not_ do cute.

But Angel's Bambi eyes were killing him.

"Please, Fang? It's gonna be my birthday soon and I want one. Really badly!" she begged in that tiny voice of hers. The child was dying to buy a new dress, which was weird because last time Fang went in Angel's closet to get her medicine for her, he was almost suffocated by all the clothes overflowing it. It had taken him an entire fifteen minutes to find the Nyquil.

"Angel, for the last time, you have a lot of dresses. No, stop giving me that look. Angel, enough. Angel. _ANGEL_," he exasperated, but there was no giving up. It seemed that she was harnessing all the cuteness belonging in her small body into the goddamn cerulean eyes that would send grown men over cliffs.

Then, ten seconds of struggling later, he cracked. "_Fine_," he muttered. "I'll buy you a new dress."

As soon as he finished saying the sentence, Fang heard, "Wait, you're getting Angel a new dress? I want something new, too! Like that awesome Nerf gun I saw on TV the other day, Fang. It was _awesome_!"

Fang inwardly swore when he saw his little brother skidding across the living room to him. His spiky blond hair was sticking up messily and there was a mustard stain on his shirt.

"Gazzy, how many times do I have to tell you? Use a freaking napkin!" Fang reprimanded him. "And why do you need a Nerf gun?" he asked, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Fang, this gun shoots foam bullets _and _water! How cool is that?" he exclaimed, waving his hands up in the air.

The eldest ran his hands through his hair. _Well, it's not like I have anywhere to go. Might as well._

"Okay," he grumbled. "But there is absolutely no way that I am buying candy for you guys this time, or else Mom will kill me. Capisce?"

The two children bobbed their heads up and down rapidly in unison, yet somehow, Fang had a feeling that he'd end up buying sugary treats for them anyway.

And that was why fifteen minutes later they ended up in the big department store in the mall. They had easily found Gazzy's Nerf gun that he was now balancing in his arms, the child bouncing as he walked behind Fang. However, due to some strange reason that Fang could not identify, the three somehow appeared in the women's section of the store.

Fang threw his hands up in frustration. "What? This was supposed to be the kids' section! Angel, Gazzy, _come on._" When there was no reply, he turned around. "Guys?"

Angel was tapping her feet nervously. Her legs were crossed in an awkward position. "I really have to pee, Fang!" she whispered loudly.

He resisted a groan and said, "Okay, fine. Gazzy, take her to the bathroom; I need to go ask an employee for directions."

Gazzy wrinkled his nose. "Eww, I'm not gonna go into a _girl's_ bathroom!"

"Gaz, you can just stand outside and wait, okay? Now, you know where the bathroom is. When you guys are done, stand outside the bathroom and don't move. I'll come find you. Now, hurry."

"Fine," the little boy grumbled. "Come on, Ange." The two went away side by side. Fang kept his eye on them until they found the bathrooms. He turned around on his heel and began searching for an employee, but then stopped to think. He couldn't recall Gazzy holding his toy on the way to the restroom. _So where was it?_

Suddenly, he tripped on a big box and went flying into the person in front of him. From the scream he heard, it was definitely a girl he ran into.

They both landed on the floor with a crash. He heard a low groan and wasn't sure if it came from him or the girl. Fang opened his eyes to see big, chocolate brown ones staring up at him, partly covered by wisps of dirty blond hair. He inwardly sighed.

_Of course._

Their limbs were tangled together, and Gazzy's boxed Nerf gun was somewhere between his legs or hers; he couldn't tell. Fang resisted the urge to start cussing. _Of all the people_, he thought to himself. "Get _off_ of me!" he heard Max yell. Quite loudly, to be honest.

"Hey, I'm like, right here. And my ears work just fine."

Max's eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "Really?" she mocked. "Then why are you still on top of me? We are in a _mall_, for Christ's sake. This is NOT the place NOR the time to start thinking with your dick!" She began to struggle against his body and made efforts to push him away, but Fang didn't budge.

Fang wrinkled his nose. "Pervert," he muttered, before beginning to stand up. It was a little awkward, considering their chests brushed together as he untangled himself from her. Max consequently got up as well, her face tomato red. He didn't question it; who knew how many people saw the fall?

He tried to pull away but his sleeve was caught on something. Looking more closely, Fang saw several threads tangled around a shiny silver zipper right under Max's neck. The zipper's owner noticed this and rolled her eyes.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," she muttered to herself. "Whatever, I got this." She reached her hand to Fang's navy blue sleeve and tugged with some force.

Before she could get in a second pull, Fang's hand clasped around hers. "Wait," he warned. "You're going to loosen the threads and ruin my shirt. Let go, I'll take care of it." He let go of Max's hand, and she put her hand back down with some grumbling.

"And pray, tell me, how exactly are going to take care of this?"

Fang couldn't help but smirk. "You of all people should know why I'm called Fang, Max." And with that, he leaned down until his face was an inch apart from her neck.

He heard Max inhale sharply. "What are you DOING?"

His eyes rolling up, Fang calmly replied, "I'm biting the threads apart, what does it look like?" Although, he knew _exactly _what it looked like. Not that he was happy with this method (it would have made more sense to ask a cashier for a pair of scissors), but he knew it would piss Max off to no end and would make her _extremely_ uncomfortable, and knowing that fact made him very pleased with himself.

His teeth enclosed around the threads and pulled it very gently. It still held but at that moment, he was distracted because the position he was in warranted that Fang was forced to see inside Max's shirt. And so help him, it was definitely a very nice view.

Fang was a guy. That, he was sure of, and being a guy, a _teenage_ guy at that, means that no matter how much you like or dislike a girl, there are always…assets to being this close to one.

He shook his head slightly. _Concentrate! _Fang bit down on the strings again and continued to do so until they ripped apart. With mixed feelings of relief and reluctance, he pulled away and stepped back until he was a few good feet apart from Max, feeling thankful that the situation was over.

"Thanks," she mumbled, her cheeks a flaming red. He could tell that she was experiencing extreme discomfort, causing him to snicker loud enough for Max to hear.

She turned even redder if possible. "Why are you _laughing at me_?" she shrieked.

"Hitler would start laughing at the look on your face if he could rise from the grave, Max," he deadpanned.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and took several breaths. Then she spoke in a calm yet strained voice, "Okay, Fang. I am trying my absolute hardest right now not to—" Max stopped abruptly and sniffed the air several times. "Fang?" _Sniff._ "Do you—_sniff_-smell…smoke?

Her words were interrupted by the loud wail of an alarm, ringing throughout the entire mall. _Ring! Ring! Ring!_

Both Fang and Max immediately clutched their ears at the sound, wincing at how loud it was. He whipped his head around the room, trying to find the source of the smoke.

Dressing rooms? No.

Clothing aisles? No.

Escalators? No, but somewhere close. He looked up to the second floor, eyes seeking for the fire.

Bathrooms? N-

_Yes._

Suddenly, a realization hit Fang like a bus and his heart immediately stopped. _Angel and Gazzy._

Fang instantly began to sprint towards the escalators until he felt a pair of arms tug his waist and force him to turn around. "Fang, are you insane? The exit's the other way!"

He gripped Max by the shoulders and rushed, "Max, it's Angel and Gazzy. They went to the bathrooms five minutes ago!"

Max's face paled. "Shit," she cursed. "Shit, shit, shit." She grabbed Fang's hand and started running towards the escalators. "Hurry, before it's too late!"

Hands clasped, they darted up the escalators, skipping several steps and nudging past the panicky crowd as they escaped towards the exit. Out of nowhere, a security guard stood in front of them, blocking their path. "Sir, ma'am, the mall is on _fire_. It is of utmost urgency that you evacuate the premises as soon as possible."

Max pleaded, "My friend's brother and sister are in there!"

The security guard's tone became gentler as he said, "I'm sorry, but you need to worry for your own safety before others. The firefighters will be here soon."

"They could be dead by then!" Fang shouted. With a big shove, he pushed the guard out of his way and clasped Max's hand tighter as they hurried towards the bathrooms in the hallway.

By now, the flames had grown into an all-consuming fire that ate everything in its path. There was dark gray smoke and ash and crackling remnants of what once was a white, clean hallway. In the corner of the hallway near the entrance, there was a lone water fountain, untouched by the flames surrounding it, at least for that moment.

Fang saw the fountain and tugged Max to it. "Do what I do," he instructed, not waiting for a response before taking off his shirt to reveal a white tank top stretched across his chest. With great strength, he kicked the spout off of the water fountain, causing the liquid to gush out. He stuck his shirt in the water until it became soaking wet and then wrapped it around his nose and mouth.

"Your turn!" His voice came out muffled from under his shirt, and he stood there as Max ripped off her jacket and held it under the water before wrapping it around her face. Together, they jumped over flames and ducked under the rubble. At one point, the ceiling began to crack and a huge chunk of plaster and cement almost landed on Max's head before Fang pushed her out of the way.

They reached the girl's bathroom entrance, and Fang could hear voices inside, crying for help. His heart thudded out of fear for them; how close were they to burning?

As soon as they stepped through the entrance, Fang's vision was obstructed by a large pile of rubble that blocked the stalls. _That's why they couldn't get out,_ he thought. "Angel! Gazzy!" Fang shouted.

"F-Fang!" he heard Angel sob. "Help! We're stuck!"

"We're coming to get you, just hold on! Max, help me pull this shit away so that we can get to them!"

"I'm way ahead of you!" she yelled over the sound of the fire consuming everything around them. He turned to see her climbing up the remains of the bathroom ceiling, not noticing how hot the rubble was. Fang quickly began climbing as well, tearing away at the rubble and cutting his hands and wrists in the process. The roar of the flames behind them caught his attention and he and Max both began to hurry. Eventually, they created an opening big enough for them to crawl through one at a time. Fang moved out of the way to let Max through, and then he followed behind her.

There. He saw Angel and Gazzy huddling in a corner, coughing and trying to shield themselves from danger. His heart broke a little at the sight of them, but it quickly healed itself with the knowledge that he had reached them in time. "Gazzy!" he yelled. "Angel!"

They ran to them, and Fang gathered Gazzy in his arms while Max took Angel, who gripped her body tightly and buried her head into Max's chest. Fang nodded his head towards the manmade opening and yelled, "You two go in first, and don't wait for us!"

Max took a deep breath, adjusted Angel onto her back, and started climbing up the debris. They quickly disappeared through the opening, and Fang, after putting Gazzy on his back, followed after them. The hole they made was too small for them to fit through, so Fang was forced to push away more of the clutter until they were able to crawl through.

When they reached the bathroom entrance, Gazzy began to cough more loudly. Fang unwrapped the wet cloth from his face and reached around to cover Gazzy's nose and mouth with it. Then, they wasted no more time. Fang ran through the halls, dodging falling pieces of plaster and skirting away from the flames, until he saw Max and Angel waiting for them, Angel now safe in Max's arms.

He caught up to them and grabbed Max's arm. "I told you not to wait for me!" he shouted.

"You think I could just leave you behind?" she screamed. "Now, come on! We're wasting time!" Max grabbed his arm and they broke towards the escalators, which had stopped running when the alarm rang. Carefully and quickly, Max rushed down the steps with Fang in pursuit. After what seemed like hours of dashing and tearing through the mall, the four reached the entrance, a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

A huge crowd had gathered by the entrance and was surrounded by police tape. Behind them, firemen had arrived at the scene moments ago, equipped with ladder trucks, fire hoses, and extinguishers. At the sight of the four people safely exiting the mall, the crowd let out whoops and cheers for the brave teenagers.

Two firefighters rushed towards them, where Max and Fang had settled Angel and Gazzy onto the ground. The eight-year-old boy wheezed for a few seconds before promptly throwing up onto the cement. One of the men knelt over Gazzy and checked him for injuries, while the other inspected Angel for burns and wounds. "The girl seems all right, albeit a few minor burns that should heal easily," the first one declared.

"And Gazzy?" Max demanded.

The second fireman spoke, "He seems to have inhaled some smoke into his lungs. Not enough to be deadly, but we need to hospitalise him immediately."

Several paramedics arrived from an ambulance and carried Angel and Gazzy on stretchers. Fang hurried to their sides and knelt over Angel, who was still crying. "Fang, it hurts!" she sobbed.

"Shh," Fang cooed as he wiped away her tears. "The doctors are going to take care of you, okay? You'll be good as new." He turned to Gazzy and ran his hand through the child's hair. "It's going to be okay, do you hear me? We're all going to be fine."

* * *

**_A/N_ _(PLEASE READ)_\- **

**Well, well, well. Look at what we have here...a new update, eh? Weird, considering I only got ONE review on the last chapter -_- Seriously, guys? I mean, I know I'm a slow updater and all, but am I so bad that I barely get any feedback?**

**Or am I not getting any reviews because my story sucks? Is that it? If it's the case, please tell me in a review or in a PM why my story is crap. I'll be happy to know how to improve it so that you guys may enjoy it.**

**-sigh- I realise that maybe I don't deserve reviews because I update very slowly, but how can you expect me to update faster if I don't get any encouragement?**

**Now that that's out of my system, shout out to FAXLOVER for reviewing :) And to all the people who reviewed chapters 1 and the prologue: heartofglass99, Guest, green-eyed-wonder 0-0, Txmblr Addict, Percabethgirl2645, JD, no-one, KayKay1232: all of you are the reasons I smile.**

**And now I'm going to ask you guys nicely: I'd really appreciate it if you'd review. It puts a grin on my face and makes my day. And it only takes a few seconds. Even saying "nice job" means a lot!**

**Note: Those of you who are reading Because of a Fight on green-eyed-wonder 0-0's account, please be patient with us. It's very close to being finished, so hang on there! xD**

**And here's to hoping this next chapter comes sooner than later. Fingers crossed!**

**Till next time, folks!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

A receptionist sat at the front desk, her bright pink nails clacking as she typed information on her computer.

Max walked up to her, gripping her shoulder bag nervously. "Excuse me," she started. "I'm here to see Angel and Zephyr Walker."

"Give me one second, sweetie." The receptionist adjusted her glasses squinted at her clipboard. "They are in…room 218. That'll be on the second floor, down the hall, and to the right." Max thanked her and slowly walked towards the elevator, reflecting on yesterday's events for the hundredth time.

Before leaving with Gazzy and Angel for the hospital, Fang had turned to Max and said, "Thank you, for helping me reach them. I know that it would have been safer for you to leave instead."

"Of course," she said. "You—" she cut herself off, her throat tightening. _You would have done the same for me. _"It would have been wrong not to."

"Yeah." There was an awkward pause. "So, are you coming to the hospital?"

"I can't," Max said, feeling guilty. "I came here with Nudge. She's probably worried."

"Right," Fang agreed. "Um, I'll see you later?"

Max nodded stiffly. "Bye."

The ambulance had then left with Fang, Gazzy, and Angel, and Max dug through the crowd to find Nudge. The poor girl had been worried to death, not knowing where Max had been. Max quietly consoled her. "It's okay. I'm okay," she reassured her, patting her back.

Now, Max was experiencing a burst of confusion that had awoken after yesterday's incidents. How did she feel about Fang now? Were they past being enemies? Were they still enemies? She thought about how they had held each other's hands as they went to save Gazzy and Angel. She also thought about the moments before the fire, where they were both literally and figuratively at each other's throats, and how she had yelled at him to no end.

She blushed furiously as images of Fang dipping at her neck came to mind. What in the world was his problem? Why did he have to make such a big deal of doing that just to make her uncomfortable?

The elevator reached the second floor, and Max walked through the corridor, searching for their hospital room. _210…212…214…216…there! 218. _She knocked on the door with one hand while slowly pushing it open with the other.

Angel and Gazzy were both quietly asleep on separate hospital bed. Fang was sitting on a couch next to the door, his hands folded over his face. At the sound of Max entering, he looked up with surprise etched on his face and quickly stood to his feet.

Max tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace. "Hi," she greeted. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course." He gestured to the couch. "Take a seat…if you want," Fang finished awkwardly.

"Thanks." She went over to the couch and sat down, and Fang then settled next to her.

There was a pause, neither knowing what to say to the other. Then Max cleared her throat and started, "How are Gazzy and Angel doing?"

Fang ran a hand through his hair and sighed, looking over to where his siblings were asleep. "They're both doing fine. Angel was treated pretty quickly, but Gazzy…well, Gazzy had a bit of a problem, as you already knew. The doctors had him go through this oxygen procedure right away. It was a bit complicated, and they had to knock him out for it, but he should be okay now."

Max let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. "That's wonderful."

"Yeah." Another awkward silence ensued. Max cursed herself silently. _Goddamnit, Max! Think of something to say!_

Then she remembered the newspaper in her bag. Max resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead, and blurted, "Crap, I almost completely forgot."

"Come again?"

"Yeah, yeah, just give me a second." Max reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out yesterday's newspaper. She flipped several pages until she reached the one she wanted and then plopped it on Fang's lap. There was an article titled "Teenagers Save Two Children From Burning Mall." Next to the article was a picture of Max and Fang, their faces clearly portrayed so that there was no mistaking them.

Fang's frowned in disbelief. "They put us in the newspaper?"

"Yep. Read it aloud if you want."

He cleared his throat before starting, "'Maximum Martinez and Nicholas Walker, seniors at Mesa Public High School, were at a local shopping mall when a fire broke out in the bathrooms on the second floor. According to a security guard who tried to stop them from heading to the second floor, Martinez claimed that her boyfriend's brother and sister were trapped upstairs'—you called me your _boyfriend_?"

Max turned red and sputtered, "It's a fucking misprint, you dumbass, and I said friend! I'd have to be out of my mind to call you _that_. Besides, you were there when I called you my friend."

Fang raised an eyebrow skeptically. "So we're _friends_ now?" he asked.

She wanted to roll up the newspaper and swat him with it. "You wish," Max rolled her eyes. "It was the first thing that came to mind. Saying "the person that I hate" would have sounded weird."

Fang stared at her.

"Just keep reading the damn newspaper, Fang."

"Whatever." He picked it up again and continued to read, "'Twenty minutes later, they were seen exiting the mall carrying a little boy and girl. The children were taken to the hospital after they had both suffered minor wounds and the boy had inhaled smoke. They are currently both in stable condition.' Well, that was certainly unexpected."

"Same." Max took the newspaper back from him and put it in her bag. "You're not feeling weird about having your picture in the newspaper, are you? There are a lot of strangers people who could see it."

Fang scoffed. "Please, this face was made for being in the media."

"Because it's so goddamn awful?" Max teased, not lightly.

"I think you meant 'awfully beautiful.' And if anyone should have a problem with being in the media, it should be you. One would think that you would have had enough publicity for a lifetime. I guess nothing's changed after all."

Max's eyes narrowed. "Yeah," she said bitterly. "One _would_ think that, wouldn't they?'

Realizing that he went too far, Fang's eyes widened, and he immediately began apologizing. "Shit, Max, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for that to come out so insens—"

She rose up her palm and silenced any further words. "I don't want to hear it Fang."

"Max, I—"

"You know what? I should probably be going now. I think coming here was a mistake." Refusing to listen to Fang's protests, Max gathered her things and got up. Before she strutted to the door, she turned to face Fang. "Bye _Nick._ Have betraying another friend tomorrow. After all, nothing's changed, right?" she mocked his earlier tone.

Fang showed no sign of being affected, other than a clenched jaw. "I think I might agree with you on this one, Max. I think you coming here _was _a mistake."

His words, thinly laced with venom, cut into Max. "Go to hell," she sneered, turning on her heel.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," she heard him call out. In response, Max shot the middle finger over her shoulder as she left the room.

But as soon she exited the hospital and reached her car, Max experienced a splitting headache and fell to her knees. "Ah!" she screamed. The pain in her head was so excruciating that she didn't even notice the gravel digging into the skin of her knees and legs.

Out of nowhere, the pain stopped. A name appeared in her mind.

_Dominick._

* * *

Fang had instantly regretted saying the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He had no idea how he could have been so stupid. Nothing had changed? Seriously?

Way too much had changed.

He let his head thud against the wall. Then again, it wasn't like Max was innocent either. Fang guessed his outburst must have been influenced by what Max said before that. He wasn't too keen on letting her know, but it made him feel, well, _good_ yesterday when they worked together to rescue Angel and Gazzy. He felt like maybe there was still a chance for the two to rekindle what they once had.

_My friend's brother and sister are in there, _she had shouted. _My friend._

Ugh, but today she denied everything and claimed instead that she still hated him. No one could blame Fang for getting a little angry at her stupid, stubborn mind. And how could she have accused of him betraying his friends? If anyone was being insensitive, it was her. Hell, she was the one that was overreacting. Sure, Fang got a little carried away in the middle, but it was all her fault. Wasn't it?

Maybe it really was a mistake that Max had come here today.

Fang let his gaze wander over to the sleeping forms of Angel and Gazzy and silently chastised himself. He shouldn't be worried over a petty fight. There were more important things, such as the fact that his brother and sister were alive and well. _Thank you, God._

He stretched his arm towards the table in front of him and picked up his phone. However, as soon as he settled back into his spot, Fang's skull began to pound. He instinctively clutched the sides of his head, a familiar electric pain shocking his brains. Images flashed on his closed eyelids, image of a wedding. There were people drinking champagne, a woman in a blue dress, and flowers, so many flowers.

As quickly as the headache began, it ended, leaving Fang feeling dazed and peculiar and for some inexplicable reason, a little sad.

* * *

A man sat behind his mahogany desk and typed a report on his computer to be sent to all members of the company. Clutching a pencil tightly between his teeth, he quickly finished the report and hit the "Send" button. He stopped typing and continued to chew on his pencil, a habit that he had carried throughout his life.

He picked up a cup of coffee opened a drawer at the side of his desk. Rummaging through it till he found what he wanted, the man picked up a picture of a couple. He leaned back into his chair and stared at it, pausing to take a sip from his coffee.

It had been eighteen years. Eighteen years since they died, and they had carried their secrets to the grave.

The man remembered every second of their funeral. He had stood far back, where no one could see him; it was better that way. Even though he had been segregated from the rest of the funeral-goers, he had still drunk in their memory. That much, he had owed them.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in," the man ordered.

His assistant, a young woman in her twenties entered the room, carrying a newspaper tucked in her arm. "Sir?" she asked. "Martin came back early from Arizona. He told me that you need to see this immediately." The woman removed the newspaper from the crook of her arm, strode over to his desk and handed it to him. "Flip to page thirteen."

Feeling apprehensive, the man took the newspaper and flipped it to the appropriate page. At seeing the image printed crystal clear in the middle of the paper, he paled and dropped his cup, the glass shattering as it hit the floor and its contents spilling across the wood.

With trembling fingers, he picked up the picture that he had examined early from his desk. The man put the picture next to the one shown in the newspaper. There were no discernable differences between the two women or the two men. He audibly gulped, his throat feeling dry. _How could it be possible?_

Maxine and Dominick Ride were still alive.

And somehow, even though eighteen years had passed, they still looked the exact same.

* * *

A week came and went after the mall incident, and little had changed. Whenever Max and Fang passed each other in the halls, neither made eye contact. They both still suffered from headaches and still saw visions. Angel and Gazzy came home, and they were still as playful and mischievous as ever. The weather was still sweltering hot.

Little had changed, except Mesa Public High school gained a new teacher. The biology teacher, after spending nine years teaching at the high school, resigned for reasons undisclosed to both staff and students. On the very next day, a new biology teacher was hired. His resume had been great; after teaching biochemistry at Princeton University for five years, he moved and taught at California's best private schools. Now, he decided to live quietly in the small town of Mesa, Arizona and teach to the local high school students.

And so, on Monday morning, when the students, sleepy and tired from little sleep and countless weekend activities, gathered into the classroom as usual, they were greeted by a perfect stranger.

The teacher straightened his tie and stood up from his chair. "Good morning, class," he addressed the class. "My name is Mr. Gunther Hagen, and I am your new biology teacher."

* * *

**A/N- Hey, everyone! I actually updated faster this time, so can we _PLEASE REVIEW_ for that? Please tell me what you guys think of this story. What do you think is going to happen? Who is the man? Who is the teacher? Hell, what did Fang and Max due to each other that began their fight? SO MANY QUESTIONS. NO ANSWERS. Haha, if you want to find out the answers, you'll have to review. It's a simple formula really: Reviews equals Encouragement equals Faster Updates equals Answers!**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed: sexistpiglet, Guest, and Winged carpet. For those who mentioned updates, I hope this satisfies you!**

**I want to try this new thing where I ask you guys questions so I can know my readers better. In return, you guys can ask me questions if you want. Think of it as sort of a 20 questions.**

**Question 1: What is your favorite band/singer?**

**Till next time, folks!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Gunther-Hagen rubbed his chin as he examined his class schedules on his desk. Nicholas Walker was in the sixth period, while Maximum Martinez was in his fifth period biology class. He frowned. That wouldn't do; he needed to be able to examine them together. It looked like Mr. Walker was going to have his schedule changed.

He had had his assistant look up their backgrounds after he was shown their pictures in the newspapers. Maximum Martinez and Nicholas Walker were both born at the same hospital on April 17th, 1997 at 12:23 AM and 12:21 AM respectively; around the same time the Rides were killed. Both had lived in Mesa their entire lives and had gone to the same schools. They were in no way related to Maxine or Dominick Ride, though; even their heritage was different. While both Maxine and Dominick were pure Caucasian, Maximum had Hispanic ancestry while Nicholas had a mix of Italian and Greek.

The teacher rubbed the sides of his forehead with his fingers. _Maxine. Maximum. Dominick. Nicholas. _Even their names were similar. He had a feeling that the teenagers were called Max and Nick as well. The newspaper claimed that the two were dating. Of course, how could it be any other way?

The coincidences staggered on top of each other. The only possible explanation could be reincarnation, but that was just a myth. The scientist in him refused to believe it; the coincidences were just those, coincidences. Unless…just because he deemed it impossible does not mean they would? There were too many similarities to feel as if there was absolutely no way.

Yes, it was unethical, but it was necessary. All he had to do know was just had to find a way to tell them.

Gunther-Hagen reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the only photo he owned of the couple. For the first time in eighteen years of searching in vain, he felt a spark of hope.

* * *

"Nicholas Walker, please report to the main office immediately."

Fang's head jerked to the intercom and resisted the urge to groan. What the hell did they need him for? Slamming his locker shut, Fang readjusted the strap on his backpack and began to make his way for the main office. The bell rang, signaling the transition to everyone's fifth period classes.

Fang pushed past students heading to class and spotted Max a few meters away. Their eyes met, and Max quickly averted her gaze to the ground. He rolled his eyes in response and continued to walk. _Typical. _

Fang entered the main office and approached the office administrator's desk. "My name is Nicholas Walker, I was called by the intercom," he informed her.

The office administrator peered at him through her spectacles. "Hm? Ah, yes, Nicholas." She slid a piece of paper over the desk to him. "It appears that you have a schedule change."

_Schedule change?_ Frowning, Fang picked up the paper to take a closer look. Previously, he had sixth period biology and fifth period economics; now it was vice versa. "Excuse me, may I ask why my schedule was changed?" he asked.

"I'm afraid to say that I wasn't made aware of the reason, dear. The principal just told me to switch the classes around. He never said why," the administrator added. Reluctantly, Fang nodded and requested a late slip before stalking away to his new biology class.

He opened the classroom door to find an unfamiliar blond man staring at him unfalteringly as soon as Fang had entered the room.

Immediately, an electric bolt surged through Fang's head, causing him to grunt in pain. It took all of his strength not to openly react in front of the whole classroom, afraid of attracting attention.

"Sir, are you listening to me?" the stranger asked him.

Shaking his head a little, Fang said, "Sorry, I was feeling a bit weird. Can you repeat what you just said?"

The man's gaze was steadfastly locked onto Fang's face, making him feel uncomfortable. "I said," he repeated, "that you are _late_, Mr. Walker. May I inquire why?"

"The office called me during transition about a schedule change. They, uh, they gave me a late slip." Fang hastily pulled out the yellow note from his pocket and held it out.

The other person did not even bother looking at the note. "My name is Mr. Gunther Hagen, and I am your new biology teacher," he stated with a tone of indifference, as if he were commenting on the weather rather than introducing himself to someone. "I took the liberty of creating a new seating chart before class began. You may take a seat next to Ms. Martinez, who will be your new lab partner," Mr. Gunther Hagen continued. Without accepting the slip, he walked towards his desk, leaving Fang dumbstruck and standing in front of the classroom.

_The actual fuck. _Max was in his biology class now? And they were lab partners, too? Sure, he had history class with her as well, but they sat on opposite sides of the room and never spoke. But now…now, they were partners. It was almost as if fate was shoving those two together this past year, only to find them repelling each other, like when a child held two magnets together that refuse to attract.

Keeping his expression still as he slowly walked over to where Max sat, Fang noted the pissed-off look on her face that had been slowly becoming very familiar to him. He plopped his backpack on the floor, pulled out his chair, and sat down.

A leg kicked his shin out of nowhere. "Ow!" Fang hissed under his breath. He turned and saw Max looking steadily at the white board. "Crazy bitch," he muttered.

"Fuckface," he heard Max say, almost inaudibly.

Fang was starting to feel irritated. "What, you think it's my fault that he put us together?" he whispered at her furiously.

"No, it's your fault that I don't like you," she shot back.

"That's such a fucking stupid reason for hitting me!"

"Stop being a pussy and shut up, Tooth."

"Stop being so damn immature."

"Mr. Walker! Ms. Martinez!" the teacher called out. "Is there a problem back there?"

"No," they both called out in unison.

Mr. Gunther Hagen observed them, as he had been doing with Fang ever since he walked into the classroom. "Very well, then," he said after a pause. "Class, please take out your books and turn to page 238. I was informed that you had just finished studying cells, so today we will be starting genetics."

With a heavy sigh, Fang pulled out his textbook and glumly flipped through the pages, trying to think of ways to kill the principal without getting caught.

* * *

For Max, the next couple weeks of biology passed like this:

First, Max would enter the classroom. Seconds later, Fang would enter behind her. As they sat down, they would "accidentally" shove each other. Neither would apologize. Then, one would make a snarky comment, which the other would reply to with an insult.

For example, on the second day of biology as they were asked to quietly read section 2 of the chapter, Fang glanced at her through the corner of his eye, looked back to his textbook, and whisper, "Nice tops, Maxie. You wear that shirt just for me?"

Max turned red and stepped on his foot, hard, causing him to grunt. "In your dreams, asshole," she muttered after pulling up her shirt.

Then the rest of the lesson would pass in silence. Sometimes.

For instance, on their first lab day, the class was asked to extract DNA from plants. As Fang was taking out his ice-cold vial of ethanol from the classroom freezer, Max discreetly pushed him from the back, causing him to drop the contents of his vial onto the floor.

He cursed, grabbed a bunch of tissues, and bent down to clean up the mess. She walked around the spill and stood in front of him. Fang looked up, seeing Max trying not to laugh. "Whoops," she smirked, feeling anything but sorry. "My bad." Fang narrowed his eyes at her and continued to wipe the ethanol off of the ground.

So that was why the next day, as Max sat at their table and was in the process of filling out a worksheet on genetics, a hand knocked her plastic water bottle onto her paper, soaking it and ruining her work, even though she had only completed a few questions.

Fang laughed softly. "Whoops," he said, echoing her words from yesterday. "My bad." Max gave him a death glare that would have sent anyone else crying for his or her mother. Fang, on the other hand, returned the glare with equal loathing.

And thus did the next week and half pass. However, on the next Wednesday, class was a different matter entirely.

Mr. Gunther Hagen briskly walked into the classroom full of students and set his briefcase on his desk. "Good morning class," he acknowledged them. "Today, we are going to start the next chapter on genetic engineering. Please take out your books and turn to page 274."

As soon as the words "genetic engineering" left the teacher's mouth, Max's head began to hurt. She clenched her eyes shut and grabbed her head, a response to the pain that was beginning to feel second nature to her. Images of test tubes, sparkling white walls, and men and women in lab coats danced in an intricate waltz that seared her mind.

Then, there was nothing, just a word, reverberating in her head nonstop.

_Itex._

Max opened her eyes to see Mr. Gunther Hagen curiously staring at her, arms folded. "Is something the matter, Ms. Martinez?"

"No," she quickly spoke. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

He looked doubtful, as if he knew what had happened, but didn't say anything as he sat down at his desk and started his lecture. As Mr. Gunther Hagen spoke, Max opened her up her notebook to a random page and began to doodle as always.

Instead of her usual drawings, however, she scribbled the word "Itex" over and over in different fonts and styles. _What could it possibly mean? _she wondered. Never in her life had she ever heard that word. _Itex. Itex. Itex. Itex._

A hand grasped her wrist tightly, causing Max to inhale sharply and shut her notebook, hoping no one saw her scribbles.

"Max," a voice next to her murmured. She turned to see Fang, face ashen, looking at her almost with fear. "Where did you see that word?"

His hand still gripped her wrist with a strange desperation, but she did nothing to shake it off. Instead, Max looked at Fang and said nothing for a long time, searching his face for some sort of explanation, some sort of assurance that everything was all right. She found none.

"In my head," Max spoke softly, knowing that this was Fang and that he would never judge or think her insane. "I saw it in my head."

Fang remained silent, but the fear in his eyes intensified. Slowly, he removed his hand from her wrist and turned to face the classroom. A few seconds later, Max felt his hand tap on her thigh three, four times before returning to his side.

Then, Fang raised his arm into the air. "Mr. Gunther Hagen?" he asked. "May I use the restroom?"

The teacher nodded as he continued to speak to the class. Fang rose from his seat and left the classroom without looking back.

Max waited five minutes and then raised her arm as well. "Mr. Gunther Hagen," she called out loudly. "Can I go get a drink of water?"

Mr. Gunther Hagen paused his lecture to respond, "Yes, Ms. Martinez." Max got up from her desk and quickly left the classroom as well.

As soon as Max entered the hallways, she briskly walked over to the nearest janitor's closet. Making sure there was no one watching, she slipped inside. The closet was pitch black, so Max couldn't tell if anyone was inside. She unsteadily took a few steps and raised her arms up blindly. "Fang?" she called. "Are you in here?"

"Hey," a voice came from behind her. The light switch must have been flipped because the room was cast with a dim glow from the lone light bulb hanging from a ceiling.

Max's heart leapt to her throat, and she spun around to see Fang leaning against the door. "What the fuck, Fang?" she whispered frantically. "Three years and you still haven't given up your habit of scaring the shit out of people."

Fang ignored her comment and approached her. "What do you mean you saw that word in your head?" he asked bluntly.

Max thought about how to reply. What could she say? That she'd been getting visions? Nightmares? Feelings of déjà vu, like when she first saw Mr. Gunther Hagen? Finally, she settled for the pure, unadulterated truth.

"It started about a year ago," she began. "A few months after I turned seventeen, I started getting headaches at the most random moments. And usually…usually I get a, a vision, I guess you could say for lack of a better term. Visions of the strangest things, things I have nothing to do it. Sometimes it's a picture, sometimes it was a name. Today, I saw Itex." Max stopped, unsure of whether she should continue.

Fang gave her a nod. "Go on," he pressed.

Max sighed. _Here came the hard part. _She continued," I get nightmares. Almost every night, always the same one."

"What was in them?"

"There was a man and a woman. I've never been able to make out their faces before; they're always blurred out. They're running through the forest at night, and then they get shot. I always wake up after the woman gets shot," Max explained, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I never go back to sleep after that. I—" she broke off, feeling embarrassed.

Fang's eyes softened. "Max, it's okay. I won't judge you," he reassured.

Max pressed her lips. "I feel too scared to sleep," she confessed. "I'm too scared to find out what happens after they die, because—"

"Because you know it's only going to get worse?" he finished for her, not meeting her eyes.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Exactly." Fang remained silent. For the first time, Max saw the bags under his eyes, the pale color of his face, and the clench in his neck, as if he were preparing himself for unknown pain. It was an appearance she saw in the mirror, every goddamned day. "You get them too, don't you?" she asked quietly.

Fang remained silent for a long time. "I do," he eventually admitted. "The exact same way you described them. The headaches, the nightmares, the visions—everything. That's where I heard the word Itex."

Max inhaled sharply. "And you couldn't tell me sooner?" she demanded.

He gave her a look. "We haven't exactly been on speaking terms, have we?"

Her face fell. "Right," she mumbled. "We haven't."

"So what kind of things have you been seeing in these visions? We should probably compare," he suggested, changing the subject.

Max ran a hand through her hair, not knowing where to begin. "Um, it's hard to keep track of everything I see. Today, I saw a laboratory and the name Itex. The last few months, it's been the name Dominick, faces of a blond man, the inside of what seemed like a home, and a bunch of other random, unrelated things I have literally never seen in my life. You?"

"It's been the same for me, really. Images of faces I've never seen before, names I've never heard before. Most recently, I saw scenes from a wedding. Not sure whose it was, though. Everything just seems so disconnected, I have no i..dea if we could ever figure out what's happening."

"Did you ever find out what Itex means?"

"I tried to."

"And?"

"I Google searched it and nothing came up. Like, there were literally zero results. I went to the library later and searched it on one of their computers, same thing happened. Itex is a dead end."

Max felt like ripping her hair out. "Great," she muttered. "Just fucking great."

"Does anyone else know about…your problem?"

"No," she told him. "Just you. And you?"

"No, this is between us." There was something about the way Fang said those words that felt so, so conspiratorial, as if it was Max and Fang against the rest of the world again, the way it used to be.

But it wasn't. Things would never be the way they were before the incident, Max thought. Both she _and _Fang had made sure of that.

* * *

**A/N- Secret's out, huh? Hope you guys liked it, and I guess you can say the next chapter will be quite eventful. Stay tuned!**

**Shout out to Guest (fav song by them is Bleeding Out :D), sexistpiglet, Winged carpet, and Sadielover1470 (David Guetta is chill :)) for reviewing!**

**Can we hit _7 reviews_? Pretty please?**

**Question: What is your favorite book besides Maximum Ride? Mine would have to be _A Thousand Splendid Suns _by Khaled Hosseini.**

**Till next time!**


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